Middle Africa
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Absolute number
Prevalence
Married by 15: Number of girls and women (left) and percentage of women 20-24 years (right) married before age 15
Married by 18: Number of girls and women (left) and percentage of women 20-24 years (right) married before age 18
Prevalence of child marriage
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Middle Africa
The line chart shows the prevalence of child marriage (before age 18) in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Middle Africa from 1999 to 2025.
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, 39% of girls in 1999 married before age 18, compared with 30% in 2024, which is the latest available value.
In Middle Africa, the prevalence was 42% in 2000 and was 33% in 2025.
Show data table
| Year | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Middle Africa |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 39.3% | |
| 2000 | 41.8% | |
| 2004 | 37.8% | |
| 2005 | 40.1% | |
| 2009 | 37.0% | |
| 2010 | 39.8% | |
| 2014 | 34.3% | |
| 2015 | 37.7% | |
| 2019 | 33.2% | |
| 2020 | 36.7% | |
| 2024 | 29.9% | |
| 2025 | 32.5% |
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Child Marriage
Prevalence
Residence
- Rural
- Urban
Wealth
- Poorest
- Second
- Middle
- Fourth
- Richest
Education
- No schooling
- Primary education
- Secondary or higher
Compare regions of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Understand differences inside the country
Touch the timeline to see how the child marriage affect differently each sub-region of Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last decades.
Levels of child marriage vary across different parts of Democratic Republic of the Congo. See the range of values within the country, and explore the map for details.
Prevalence of child marriage
Compare regions of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Understand differences
inside the country
Region with no data
2018
Prevalence of child marriage in each region of Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2018
Region with no data
2018
Prevalence of child marriage in each region of Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2018
The map shows the prevalence of child marriage (before age 18) across Democratic Republic of the Congo. Data refer to 2018, the latest year with available data.
The practice is most common in Tanganyika (60%), Kasai (54%), Haut-Uele (48%), and Kasai Oriental (48%).
Show data table
| Year | Bas-Uele | Equateur | Haut-Katanga | Haut-Lomami | Haut-Uele | Ituri | Kasai | Kasai Central | Kasai Oriental | Kinshasa | Kongo Central | Kwango | Kwilu | Lomami | Lualaba | Mai-Ndombe | Maniema | Mongala | Nord-Kivu | Nord-Ubangi | Sankuru | Sud-Kivu | Sud-Ubangi | Tanganyika | Tshopo | Tshuapa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35.9% | 18.1% | 33.1% | 31.3% | 48.2% | 40.7% | 54.3% | 46.6% | 47.7% | 13.6% | 15.1% | 29.6% | 31.9% | 30.6% | 18.7% | 43.9% | 46.2% | 40.5% | 22.3% | 45.2% | 33.5% | 26.9% | 42.8% | 60.4% | 29.3% | 26.4% |
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How does Democratic Republic of the Congo compare to other countries?
Prevalence of child marriage
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
The line chart shows the prevalence of child marriage (before age 18) in Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1999 to 2024.
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, 39% of girls in 1999 married before age 18, compared with 30% in 2024, which is the latest available value.
Residence
Child marriage prevalence
Review the data to find if girls living in rural areas are more likely to marry in childhood than girls in urban areas
The bubble chart shows the prevalence of child marriage (before age 18) disaggregated by residence in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Data refer to the latest available year.
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, 30% of girls married before age 18. The prevalence is 41% of girls in rural areas, compared with 15% in urban areas.
For more data related to child marriage, please see the child marriage country profiles available on the UNICEF Data website
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Where does child marriage occur?
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